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Abstract:

The invention relates to a vehicle roof with two cover elements (14, 16),
a front one of which can be deployed and a rear one of which serves as
the sliding cover, can be lowered under the stationary vehicle roof and
displaced. An embodiment of the invention relates to an actuating
mechanism of a drive slide which interacts with a deployment lever in
order to swivel the front cover element (14), said lever being hinged to
a support of the front cover element (14). The deployment movement of the
deployment lever is supported by a spring. According to another aspect of
the invention, the actuating mechanism comprises a slide unit which
comprises one control track each for the front cover element (14) and for
the rear cover element (16). The control tracks are configured in such a
manner that the displacement of the slide unit in the direction of the
vehicle roof, starting from a closed position of both cover elements (14,
16), first results in both cover elements (14, 16) being deployed, a
continuous displacement of the slide unit in the same direction results
in the rear cover element (16) being swung back and lowered and in the
rear cover element (16) being retracted.

Claims:

1. A vehicle roof with at least two cover elements which optionally close
or at least partially open up a roof opening, of which a front cover
element can be deployed with its rear edge above a fixed vehicle roof
region and of which a rear cover element serves as a sliding cover, can
be lowered under the fixed vehicle roof region and can be displaced along
guide rails which are arranged on both sides of the roof opening and are
fixed on the roof, and with an actuating mechanism for the two cover
elements, characterized in that the actuating mechanism for each guide
rail comprises a driving slide which is provided with a control track
which, for the pivoting of the front cover element, interacts with a
deployment lever for the front cover element, the deployment lever being
coupled to a pivotable support of the front cover element, and in that a
deployment movement of the deployment lever is assisted by means of a
spring.

2. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the spring acts on
the support with one leg and on the deployment lever with another leg.

3. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the spring is a
spiral spring.

4. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the deployment lever
is guided during its deployment movement via at least one guide peg in a
guide track fixed on the guide rails.

5. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the deployment lever
has a securing peg which, for securing the closed position of the front
cover element, engages in a recess of the driving slide and bears against
an upper wall of the driving slide.

6. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the support is
provided with a rotary bearing tongue which is preferably provided with a
plastic encapsulation by injection molding.

7. The vehicle roof of claim 1, characterized in that the deployment lever
is of essentially inverted U-shaped design and the driving slide can be
displaced between two limbs of the deployment lever.

8. A vehicle roof with at least two cover elements which optionally close
or at least partially open up a roof opening, of which a front cover
element can be deployed with its rear edge above a fixed vehicle roof
region and of which a rear cover element serves as a sliding cover, can
be lowered under the fixed vehicle roof region and can be displaced along
guide rails which are arranged on both sides of the roof opening and are
fixed on the roof, and with an actuating mechanism for the two cover
elements, characterized in that the actuating mechanism for each guide
rail comprises a slide unit which comprises a respective control track
for the front cover element and the rear cover element, the control
tracks being designed in such a manner that, starting from a closed
position of the two cover elements, a displacement of the slide units in
the direction of the vehicle rear firstly causes the two cover elements
to be pivoted out into a ventilation position, a further displacement of
the slide units in the same direction causes the rear cover element to be
pivoted back and lowered, and then causes the rear cover element to be
pulled back under a rear roof skin section.

9. The vehicle roof of claim 8, characterized in that, for the pivoting of
the rear cover element, the control track for the rear cover element
interacts with a lifting and lowering lever which acts on the rear cover
element.

10. The vehicle roof of claim 9, characterized in that the lifting and
lowering lever for the rear cover element is guided pivotably with one
end in a guide track of the relevant guide rail.

11. The vehicle roof of claim 9, characterized in that the lifting and
lowering lever acts on a reinforcing lever which is guided pivotably with
one end in a guide track of the relevant guide rail and acts on the rear
cover element with its other end.

12. The vehicle roof of claim 11, characterized in that a stop for the
reinforcing lever is formed on the lifting and lowering lever, and the
stop limits the deployment movement of the rear cover element.

13. The vehicle roof of claim 8, characterized in that the slide unit
comprises a front driving slide which interacts with the front cover
element, and a rear driving slide which interacts with the rear cover
element.

14. The vehicle roof of claim 13, characterized in that the two driving
slides are connected to each other via a driving cable plate on which a
compression-resistant driving cable is fixed and which is preferably
provided with a guide section which is mounted displaceably in a guide
track of the associated guide rail.

15. The vehicle roof of claim 13, characterized in that the front driving
slide has a slotted guide track for the lowering of a front end of a
support of the rear cover element.

16. The vehicle roof of claim 15, characterized in that, for the pivoting
operation, the support for the rear cover element is mounted at its front
end via a pivot peg in a guide rail insert defining a pivot axis.

17. The vehicle roof of claim 16, characterized in that the guide rail
insert has a guide track for a guide peg of a deployment lever of the
front cover element.

Description:

[0001]The invention relates to a vehicle roof with at least two cover
elements which optionally close or at least partially open up a roof
opening, according to the precharacterizing clause of patent claim 1 and
of patent claim 8.

[0002]A vehicle roof of this type is known from EP 0 727 331 B1. In this
vehicle roof, the front cover element serves as a wind deflector and the
rear cover element serves as a sliding cover. The front cover element can
be deployed with its rear edge above a fixed vehicle roof region. The
rear cover element can be lowered under the fixed vehicle roof region and
can be displaced along guide rails which are arranged on both sides of
the roof opening and are fixed on the roof. In order to realize the
various operating positions of the two cover elements, an actuating
mechanism which jointly drives the two cover elements is provided.

[0003]Furthermore, a vehicle roof of the generic type mentioned in the
introduction and having a front and a rear cover element is known from DE
35 22 781 A1, in which the front cover element is prestressed in the
deployment direction by means of a spring provided in the region of the
pivot axis and said cover element can be lowered by a pressure exerted by
a sliding element for the rear cover element. In the case of a design of
this type, the spring has to be of strong design in order to be able to
sufficiently counter strong wind forces. However, this has a
disadvantageous effect for the closing of the front cover element, since
high driving forces which counter the spring force are required.

[0004]The invention is based on the object of providing a vehicle roof of
the generic type mentioned in the introduction, which is provided with a
robust and compact driving mechanism for the two cover elements.

[0005]This object is achieved according to the invention by the vehicle
roof with the features of patent claim 1 and by the vehicle roof with the
features of patent claim 8.

[0006]The invention therefore relates to a vehicle roof with at least two
cover elements which optionally close or at least partially open up a
roof opening, of which a front cover element can be deployed with its
rear edge above a fixed vehicle roof region and of which a rear cover
element serves as a sliding cover and can be lowered under the fixed
vehicle roof region and can be displaced along guide rails which are
arranged on both sides of the roof opening and are fixed on the roof. An
actuating mechanism for the two cover elements is designed in such a
manner that it comprises for each guide rail a driving slide which is
provided with a control track which interacts with a deployment lever for
the front cover element, the deployment lever being coupled to a
pivotable support of the front cover element. The deployment movement of
the deployment lever is assisted by means of a spring. A robust mounting
of the front cover element is made possible by the deployment movement
being controlled by means of the driving slide and the deployment
movement being assisted by the spring. In addition, the spring secures
the front cover element in the deployed position. The mechanical prop
formed by the deployment lever can also withstand high wind forces.

[0007]In a special embodiment, the deployment lever, of which one end is
coupled to the support of the front cover element, is mounted with its
other end in a displaceable and rotatable manner in the region of the
guide rail. Starting from an essentially horizontal arrangement of the
deployment lever, in which the front cover element is in the closed
position, a displacement of the end mounted in the region of the guide
rail causes the deployment lever to be set upright and therefore causes
the front cover element to be deployed.

[0008]The spring preferably acts in such a manner that the deployment
movement of the deployment lever, i.e. the displacement of the one end of
the deployment lever in the guide rail, is assisted. In this case, one
leg of the spring preferably acts on the support of the cover element and
a further leg of the spring preferably acts on the deployment lever. The
spring therefore assists an expansion of the deployment lever and of the
pivotable support of the front cover element.

[0009]The spring can be designed as a spiral spring which, in particular,
is mounted on a peg forming a joint between the support and the
deployment lever.

[0010]In order to minimize the risk of tilting of the deployment lever
during its deployment movement, said deployment lever is preferably
guided via at least one guide pin or guide peg in a guide track fixed on
the guide rails.

[0011]An inadvertent deployment of the front cover element can be
prevented in an advantageous manner if the deployment lever is provided
with a securing peg which, in the closed position of the front cover
element, engages in a recess of the driving slide in such a manner that
it bears against an upper wall of the driving slide.

[0012]In order to be able to pivot up the front cover element in an as
resistant-free a manner as possible without collision with a front border
of the roof opening, it is expedient to displace said cover element
slightly in the direction of the vehicle rear during its pivoting-out
movement. In order to make this possible, the support of the front cover
element is advantageously formed in the region of its front end with a
rotary bearing tongue. The latter can be provided with a plastic
encapsulation by injection molding, by means of which the frictional
forces are minimized during the displacement of the front cover element.
The offsetting of the front cover element can take place by a pulling of
the driving slide at the securing peg of the deployment lever.

[0013]A particularly stable embodiment of the vehicle roof according to
the invention can be achieved if the deployment lever for the front cover
element is of essentially U-shape design and the driving slide can be
displaced between two limbs of the deployment lever.

[0014]The invention furthermore relates to a vehicle roof of the generic
type mentioned in the introduction, in which the actuating mechanism for
each guide rail in each case comprises a slide unit which comprises a
respective control track for the front cover element and the rear cover
element, the control tracks being designed in such a manner that,
starting from a closed position of the two cover elements, a displacement
of the slide units in the direction of the vehicle rear firstly causes
the two cover elements to be pivoted out into a ventilation position, a
further displacement of the slide units in the direction of the vehicle
rear causes the rear cover element to be pivoted back and lowered, and
then causes the rear cover element to be pulled back under a rear roof
skin section.

[0015]A roof system is therefore provided which has two cover elements
which can be brought jointly into a ventilation position, which has a
favorable effect on the supply of air to the vehicle interior. Both cover
elements are actuated by means of the same slide units.

[0016]The movement of the rear cover element is preferably controlled in
such a manner that, for the pivoting of the rear cover element, the
control track assigned to said cover element interacts with a lifting and
lowering lever which acts on the rear cover element.

[0017]The lifting and lowering lever can be designed in such a manner that
it is guided pivotably with one end in a guide track of the relevant
guide rail and acts with its other end on the rear cover element. The
control track of the slide unit acts between the two ends.

[0018]In order to reinforce the pivoting movement of the lifting and
lowering lever for the rear cover element and therefore to increase the
adjustment magnitude of the rear cover element, a reinforcing lever can
be provided on which the lifting and lowering lever acts and which is
guided with one end in a guide track of the guide rail and acts on the
rear cover element with its other end. In particular, it can act on a
pivotable support of the rear cover element.

[0019]In order to limit and define the maximum degree of deployment of the
rear cover element, a stop for the reinforcing lever can be formed on the
lifting and lowering lever. As an alternative, a stop for the lifting and
lowering lever can also be provided in an analogous manner on the
reinforcing lever.

[0020]In order to separate the actuating mechanism for the front cover
element and for the rear cover element in terms of components, the
closing units can each comprise a front driving slide which interacts
with the front cover element, and a rear driving slide which interacts
with the lifting and lowering lever for the rear cover element.

[0021]In order to realize a connection which is as rigid as possible
between the two driving slides of the slide unit, the two driving slides
can be connected to each other via a driving cable plate on which a
compression-resistant driving cable is fixed. The latter is connected in
turn to a conventional driving motor, for example arranged to the rear of
the roof opening. The driving cable plate can be provided with a guide
section which is guided in a guide track of the associated guide rail.

[0022]For the pivoting operation, the rear support can be mounted at its
front end via a pivot peg in a guide rail insert which defines a pivot
axis, can be formed from an injection molded plastic part and at the same
time can have a slotted guide track for the above-described stabilizing
peg of the front deployment lever.

[0023]The front driving slide can be designed, in particular, in such a
manner that it has a slotted guide track which serves for the lowering of
a front end of the support of the rear cover element. A lowering of the
front border of the cover element may namely be required in order to be
able to release the pivot pegs of the supports of the rear cover element
and to be able to displace the rear cover element under a rear roof skin.
In the pivoted position, the support is namely expediently fixed in a
rotatable manner at its front end. In order to displace the rear cover
element, the support is released by lowering of its front end.

[0024]The deployment mechanism for the front cover element or the driving
slide for the front cover element can otherwise be designed in the manner
described above.

[0025]Further advantages and advantageous refinements of the subject
matter according to the invention can be gathered from the description,
the drawing and the patent claims.

[0026]Two exemplary embodiments of the subject matter according to the
invention are illustrated schematically in simplified form in the
drawings and are explained in more detail in the description below. In
the drawing

[0027]FIG. 1 shows a perspective plan view of a vehicle roof with two
cover elements in the closed position;

[0028]FIG. 2 shows the two cover elements in the ventilation position;

[0029]FIG. 3 shows one cover element in the ventilation position and the
other cover element in the closed position;

[0030]FIG. 4 shows one cover element in the deployed position and the
other cover element in the state in which it is moved back;

[0031]FIG. 5 shows a built-in cassette comprising the two cover elements
and a drive;

[0032]FIG. 6 shows an actuating mechanism for the two cover elements,
which mechanism is assigned to a guide rail which is on the left in the
direction of travel, in a perspective illustration;

[0033]FIG. 7 shows a further perspective illustration of the actuating
mechanism illustrated in FIG. 6;

[0034]FIG. 8 shows a side view of a front section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0035]FIG. 9 shows a side view of the front section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 2;

[0036]FIG. 10 shows a side view of the front section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 3;

[0037]FIG. 11 shows a side view of a rear section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0038]FIG. 12 shows a side view of the rear section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 2;

[0039]FIG. 13 shows a side view of the rear section of the actuating
mechanism in the cover element position illustrated in FIG. 4;

[0040]FIG. 14 shows a perspective illustration of an alternative
embodiment of an actuating mechanism for the two cover elements; and

[0041]FIG. 15 shows a further perspective illustration of the actuating
mechanism illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0042]The drawing illustrates a vehicle roof 10 which is provided with a
roof opening 12 which can optionally be closed or at least partially
opened up by means of a cover element 14 which is in front in the
direction of travel and a cover element 16 which is at the rear in the
direction of travel. The two cover elements 14 and 16 can take up
different positions. Starting from the closed position of the two cover
elements 14 and 16 that is illustrated in FIG. 1, an arrangement of the
two cover elements 14, 16 can be realized, in which the two cover
elements 14, 16 are deployed and consequently take up a "ventilation
position". This ventilation position, which is also called twin-vent
position, is illustrated in FIG. 2. Furthermore, an arrangement can be
realized, in which only the front cover element 14 is deployed and is
therefore in the ventilation position, whereas the rear cover element 16
is closed. This arrangement of the cover elements 14, 16 can be seen in
FIG. 3.

[0043]As can be seen in particular from FIG. 4, the rear cover element 16
also constitutes a sliding cover which can be displaced under a roof skin
region 18 arranged to the rear of the roof opening 12. In this position
of the rear cover element 16, the front cover element 14 is deployed, and
it therefore forms a wind deflector element or a wind deflector slat.

[0044]For the mounting of the two cover elements 14 and 16 and for the
guidance of the rear cover element 16 during its movement in the
longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the vehicle roof has two guide
rails 20A, 20B which are arranged on both sides of the roof opening 12
and are part of a roof cassette 22 which can be inserted retrospectively
into a vehicle roof as a constructional unit.

[0045]In order to actuate the cover elements 14, 16, each guide rail 20A
and 20B is respectively assigned an actuating mechanism which can be
driven by means of an electric motor 24 which is arranged on the rear
border of the roof cassette 22 and acts on two compression-resistant
driving cables 26A, 26B. The driving cable 26A acts on the actuating
mechanism which is guided in the guide rail 20A, and the driving cable
26B acts on the actuating mechanism which is guided in the guide rail
20B.

[0046]The actuating mechanisms which are guided in the two guide rails 20A
and 20B are of mirror-symmetrical design with respect to the longitudinal
centre plane of the vehicle, and therefore only the actuating mechanism
guided in the guide rail 20B arranged on the left in the direction of
travel is referred to below, said actuating mechanism being illustrated
in detail in FIGS. 6 to 13 and being provided with the reference number
28.

[0047]The actuating and driving mechanism 28 comprises a front driving
slide 30, illustrated in particular in FIGS. 8 to 10, and a rear driving
slide 32, illustrated in particular in FIGS. 11 to 13, said driving
slides forming a slide unit and, for this purpose, being connected to
each other via a driving cable plate 34 which, in turn, is connected to
the driving cable 26B.

[0048]The driving cable plate 34 has an essentially cylindrical guide
section 36 which is essentially aligned with the driving cable 26B and is
guided in a guide channel (not illustrated specifically here) of the
guide rail 20B, the guide channel also serving to guide the driving cable
26B.

[0049]The front driving slide 30, which is guided in the guide rail 20A
via sliding elements, is assigned to the front cover element 14 and
serves essentially in order to deploy the front cover element and to
bring it back again into the closed position. For this purpose, the front
driving slide 30 acts on a deployment lever 38 which is of essentially
inverted U-shaped design and is connected via an articulation spindle 40
to a support 42, which is mounted pivotably at its front end, for the
front cover element 14. For the fixing of the front cover element 14, the
support 42 has two holes 44 oriented in the transverse direction of the
vehicle.

[0050]For the pivotable mounting, the support 42 is provided at its front
end with a "rotary bearing tongue" 46 which is encapsulated with plastic
by injection molding and is guided in guide devices 48 fixed on the guide
rails.

[0051]As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 8 to 10, the front driving
slide 30 has a slotted guide track or control track 50 which interacts
with a peg 52 of the deployment lever 38. The control track 50 has a
profile which rises in the direction of the vehicle rear.

[0052]In the arrangement of the actuating mechanism 28 that is illustrated
in FIGS. 6 to 8, the front cover element 14 is closed, i.e. the support
42 of the front cover element 14 is in a lowered position. In this
position of the support 42, the deployment lever 38 is also in an
essentially horizontal arrangement. If the slide unit and therefore the
front driving slide 30 are now moved to the rear, i.e. to the right in
FIG. 8, the peg 52 of the deployment lever 38 undergoes a displacement in
the control track 50, which triggers a deployment movement of the
deployment lever 38, as a result of which, in turn, the support 42 and
therefore the front cover element 14 are deployed. In this case, an
extension of the support 42 and of the deployment lever 38 takes place,
as can be gathered from FIG. 9.

[0053]The deployment movement is assisted by a spiral spring 54 which is
mounted in the region of the articulation spindle 40 and engages around a
bearing peg of the deployment lever 38, which bearing peg defines the
articulation spindle 40, and has two legs, of which one acts on the
support 42 and the other acts on the deployment lever 38, with the ends
of the legs each being able to engage in a groove of the support 42 or of
the deployment lever. The spiral spring 54 assists the expansion of the
support 42 and of the deployment lever 38 and secures the deployed
arrangement of the front cover element 14.

[0054]Furthermore, the deployment lever 38 comprises guide pegs 56 and 57
which protrude on both sides in the transverse direction of the vehicle,
are respectively guided in a guide track 58 and 59 fixed on the guide
rails and counter a tilting of the deployment lever 38 during the
pivoting movement thereof.

[0055]To secure the closed position of the cover element 14, a securing
pin 60 is formed on the deployment lever 38, the securing pin, in the
arrangement illustrated in FIG. 8, engaging in a recess 61 on the upper
side of the front driving slide 30 and bearing here against an upper wall
of the front driving slide 30. In addition, the front cover element 14
can be offset slightly in the direction of the vehicle rear by means of
the securing pin 60 for opening purposes, and therefore no collision
takes place between the front cover element 14 and the front border of
the roof opening 12 during the pivoting-up operation. This is achieved by
the front driving slide 28, as it moves back in the guide rail 20A,
pulling on the securing pin 60 and therefore exerting a force which is
directed in the direction of the vehicle rear on the deployment lever 38
and the support 42. Only subsequently does the interaction of the control
track 50 and of the peg 52 bring about a deployment of the deployment
lever 38.

[0056]The rear driving slide 32, which is illustrated in particular in
FIGS. 11 to 13, is guided displaceably in the longitudinal direction of
the vehicle in guide tracks of the guide rail 20B via sliding elements
33, in a manner corresponding to the front driving slide 30, and serves
to adjust the rear cover element 16 which is fixed on both sides to a
support 62 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and
is provided for this purpose with two fixing holes 64.

[0057]At its front end, the support 62 has a pivot peg 66 which forms a
pivot axis of the support 62. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 11,
the pivot peg 66 is mounted in a raised position in a guide rail insert
68, which is manufactured from plastic, in such a manner that a
longitudinal displacement of the support 62 along the guide rail 20B is
blocked.

[0058]To lower the front end of the support 62, a control track 63 is
provided on the front driving slide 30 and a peg 65 which protrudes in
the transverse direction of the vehicle and is arranged on that side of
the support 62 which faces away from the pivot peg 66 engages in said
control track. In the lowered state, illustrated in FIG. 13, of the front
end of the support 62, the peg 66 can be displaced in a guide track of
the guide rail 20B.

[0059]The guide track 58 for the stabilizing peg 56 of the front
deployment lever 38 is also formed in the guide rail insert 68 for
mounting the peg 66 of the rear support 62.

[0060]The rear driving slide 32 furthermore has a control track 70 in
which a bolt 72 of a "lifting and lowering lever" 74 for the rear support
62 is guided and which comprises a rear, first section A, a second
section B which is higher than the first section A, a third section C
which is level with the first section A, and a front, fourth section
which is lower than the sections A, B and C. The arrangement of the
sections A to D refers to the customary orientation of a vehicle.

[0061]The lifting and lowering lever 74 has an essentially inverted
U-shaped cross section. The rear driving slide 32 can be displaced in the
longitudinal direction of the vehicle between the two limbs of the
lifting and lowering lever 74. At its front end, the lifting and lowering
lever 74 is mounted rotatably on both sides on sliding elements 76 which
are guided displaceably in guide tracks in the guide rail 20B. At its end
facing away from the sliding elements 76, the lifting and lowering lever
74 is coupled via a bolt 78 in the central region of a "reinforcing
lever" 80 which is mounted rotatably at its rear end on sliding elements
82 guided in a guide track of the guide rail 20B. At its end facing away
from the sliding elements 82, the reinforcing lever 80 is coupled via a
bolt 84 to the support 62 of the rear cover element 16. The reinforcing
lever 80 causes the movement of the lifting and lowering lever 74, which
movement takes place because of the action of the driving slide 32, to be
transmitted to the support 62 and therefore to the rear cover element 16
in a reinforced form.

[0062]To limit the deployment movement of the support 62, a stop 86 which
interacts with a projection 88 of the reinforcing lever 80 is formed on
the lifting and lowering lever 74.

[0063]The actuating mechanism 28 operates in the manner described below.

[0064]Starting from the arrangement which is illustrated in FIG. 1 and in
which the two cover elements 14 and 16 are closed, the slide unit, which
is formed from the driving slides 30 and 32 and via the driving cable
plate 34, is moved in the direction of the vehicle rear in the guide rail
20B. In the process, first of all the front cover element 14 undergoes,
as described above, a slight offset in the direction of the vehicle rear
because of the force acting on the securing pin 60 from the front driving
slide 30.

[0065]A further displacement of the slide unit causes both the front cover
element 14 and the rear cover element 16 to be deployed. This takes place
by the deployment lever 38, which is connected to the front support 42,
undergoing a deployment movement because of the effect of the control
track 50, and the peg 72 of the lifting and lowering lever 74 for the
rear support 62 being brought into the raised section B of the control
track 70 such that the lifting and lowering lever 74 and therefore, via
the reinforcing lever 80, the rear support 62 are pivoted out. The pivot
axis of the rear support 62 is formed here by the pivot peg 66 at its
front end.

[0066]A further displacement of the slide unit causes the rear cover
element 16 to be pivoted back into the closed position. The peg 72 is
then in section C of the control track 70. A further displacement of the
driving slides 30 and 32 causes, firstly, because of the slotted guide
track 63, which is assigned to the rear support 62, in the front slide
30, the front end of the rear support 62 to be lowered and, because of
the effect of the control track 70 of the rear driving slide 32, causes
the lifting and lowering lever 74 and therefore, via the reinforcing
lever 80, the rear support 62 to undergo lowering. The peg 72 of the
lifting and lowering lever 74 is then in the section D of the control
track 70. The lowering of the support 62 takes place in such a manner
that the rear cover element is arranged below the rear roof skin region
18 and can be displaced under the latter. The displacement of the rear
cover element 16 is caused by a further displacement of the slide unit 33
which then acts on the lifting and lowering lever 74, and the support 62
and the assembly comprising slide unit, lifting and lowering lever 74,
reinforcing lever 80, support 62 and associated rear cover element 16 are
displaced under the rear roof skin region 18.

[0067]FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate an alternative embodiment of an actuating
mechanism 28 which can be used for driving the two cover elements 14 and
16 in the manner described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiment
according to FIGS. 6 to 13. According to this first embodiment, the
actuating mechanism 28 illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15 comprises a slide
unit which comprises a front driving slide 30 and a rear driving slide 32
and is provided with a driving cable plate 34 to which the driving cable
(not illustrated specifically here) is fastened.

[0068]The front driving slide 30 which acts on the front cover element 14
likewise serves to deploy said cover element and to bring it back again
to the closed position. According to the first embodiment, the front
driving slide 30 acts on a deployment lever 38 which is connected via an
articulation spindle 40 to a support 42, which is mounted pivotably at
its front end, for the front cover element 14. The fixing of the cover
element 14 to the support 42 takes place via two holes 44. At its front
end, the support 42 is likewise provided with a rotary bearing tongue 46.

[0069]The deployment of the deployment lever 38 and of the front cover
element 14 takes place in the manner described in conjunction with the
first embodiment and with corresponding means, with the deployment
movement likewise being assisted by a spiral spring 54 which is mounted
in the region of the articulation spindle 40 and has two legs, of which
one acts on the support 42 and the other acts on the deployment lever 38.
The spiral spring 54 therefore assists the expansion of the support 42
and of the deployment lever 38 and secures the deployed arrangement of
the front cover element 14.

[0070]The rear driving slide 32, which is guided displaceably in the
longitudinal direction of the vehicle in guide tracks of the relevant
guide rail via sliding elements 33, serves to adjust the rear cover
element 16 which is fixed on both sides to a support 62 which extends in
the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is provided for this
purpose with two fixing holes 64.

[0071]The mounting of the support 62 at its front end corresponds to that
of the support 62 of the first embodiment.

[0072]By contrast, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in
that a control track 70 is formed on the driving slide 32 and, on the
upper side of a T-shaped section of the driving slide 32, is designed in
the form of a widened guide strip on which a lifting and lowering lever
74 is guided via a guide claw 90 which is designed as a beveled edge of
the lifting and lowering lever 74 and engages under the guide strip.

[0073]The control track 70 is therefore formed on the upper side of the
rear driving slide 32 and not, as in the first embodiment, in the form of
a slot or a recess.

[0074]The lifting and lowering lever 74 is guided at its lower and rear
end in a guide track of the relevant guide rail via sliding elements 76
and, at its end which faces away from the sliding elements 82, is mounted
rotatably on the support 62 via a bolt 84. The lifting and lowering lever
74 consequently acts directly on the support 62. An embodiment of this
type is distinguished by a high degree of rigidity and provides the rear
cover element 16 with a particularly stable mounting. Unlike in the
embodiment according to FIGS. 6 to 13, the formation of a reinforcing
lever has been omitted.

[0075]The sequence of movement of the rear cover element 16 that is
predetermined by the control track 70, which runs essentially in a manner
corresponding to the control track of the first embodiment, is likewise
such that, starting from a closed position, a displacement of the slide
unit in the direction of the vehicle rear first of all causes the rear
cover element 16 to be pivoted out, a further displacement of the slide
unit in the same direction causes the rear cover element 16 to be pivoted
back and lowered, and then causes the rear cover element 16 to be pulled
back under a rear roof skin section, with the front cover element 14
always remaining in a pivoted-out position when the rear cover element 16
is open.